Tottenham signing Vincent Janssen almost quit football after failing to break through at Feyenoord.
Janssen, 22, was released by the Dutch giants in 2013, having been unable to make a first-team appearance at the club.
He spent time in the second-tier before joining AZ Alkmaar, scoring a stunning 27 goals in 34 Eredivisie appearances last season.
Now a five-time Netherlands international, Janssen revealed he came close to giving up on the sport after failing at Feyenoord.
I liked football too much to quit it, but at that moment it was now or never, he told ESPNFC.
And if it wasn t going to be what I wanted, I had to make a choice. I said to myself, One time more I m going to give everything for it , and you can see what can happen.
My feeling at Feyenoord was not that good. I never felt really comfortable. Feyenoord made a choice at that moment and I made a choice to go on. Sometimes, it not always going how you want it to go is helpful.
I was not feeling comfortable there, so I had to fight for myself. That s what I learned there. Sometimes when it doesn t go well, you have to fight. So that s what I did.
Thanks to his performances last season, Janssen earned a £17million move to Tottenham in July.
Janssen said he knew after speaking to manager Mauricio Pochettino he wanted a move to Spurs.
When I was first in Tottenham at the facilities, my conversation with the coach was very good. For me, the choice was easy, he said.
I always think to myself that I have to do choices by 100 per cent, and for me it was a 100 per cent choice.
My feeling was good. It was easy. After a lot of conversations with the club, I know where I want to go.
